This application claims the Paris convention priority of Japanese patent application 2000-263920 filed on Aug. 31, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of the cover case of an electronic apparatus such as portable telephone, radio equipment, information terminal equipment, portable personal computer, or mobile communication terminal. It also relates to such an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic apparatus such as portable telephone is constructed including an apparatus cover case, and has various electronic elements, electric components etc. installed therein. In such an electronic apparatus, in recent years, a large number of requests have been eagerly made, not only for a higher performance and more functions, but also for a smaller size, a lighter weight, a thinner structure, etc. Accordingly, persons engaged in the art are constantly endeavoring to develop a compact apparatus of good design.
As to the portable telephone, in installing a large-sized LCD (liquid crystal display) within the small-sized housing of the apparatus, a space for mounting the LCD needs to be held inevitably, so that the installation must be coped with by making the other constituent members compact. Besides, a cover case which is thin, light, and high in strength must be used for protecting the constituent members included inside.
Since, however, the large number of required electronic elements, electric components etc. must be installed within the housing of the apparatus, a thin and compact construction as the whole apparatus has not heretofore been realized with ease. Moreover, since a battery and passive elements such as capacitors, indispensable to the apparatus, assume a considerable space inside the apparatus, a design for compaction has not been easy. In this regard, if expensive components are used for the compaction, the electronic apparatus itself rises in cost much.
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as stated above, and has for its object to provide an apparatus cover case structure which contributes to make an electronic apparatus smaller in size, lighter in weight, thinner, etc. and which permits a large-sized LCD (liquid crystal display) to be installed, and the electronic apparatus which includes the apparatus cover case structure.
In order to accomplish the above object, an apparatus cover case and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention are constructed as stated below. Incidentally, reference numerals affixed agree with those indicated in the drawings.
(1) An apparatus cover case structure comprising a sheet-like core layer 1 which includes an electric element, and cover case layers 3 which are respectively arranged as outer layers holding said core layer 1 therebetween, thereby to form a sandwich structure.
(2) An apparatus cover case structure comprising a sheet-like core layer 1 which includes an electric element, laminate film layers 2 which are respectively arranged with said core layer 1 held therebetween, and cover case layers 3 which are respectively arranged as outer layers of the corresponding laminate film layers 2, thereby to form a sandwich structure.
(3) In the apparatus cover case structure, the electric element is a passive element such as capacitor.
(4) In the apparatus cover case structure, the electric element is a lithium battery.
(5) In the apparatus cover case structure, said cover case layers 1 are made of a CFRR material.
(6) In the apparatus cover case structure, the sandwich structure is in a curved shape.
(7) In an electronic apparatus wherein predetermined constituent members are disposed in an apparatus housing, an electronic apparatus wherein the apparatus housing is formed including said apparatus cover case structure as defined in any of the above items (1) through (5).